NICKEL CREEK

By Neil Hubbard, Triplearadio.com Contributing Editor

The Album
Why Should The Fire Die?

The Single
"When In Rome"

The Label
Sugar Hill

Discography
Nickel Creek 2000
This Side (Sugar Hill) 2002
Why Should the Fire Die (Sugar Hill) 2005

Liner Notes
To say that the San Diego-based Nickel Creek is a bluegrass band is almost a disservice to their diverse but focused third album Why Should The Fire Die? Their previous two albums were produced by Alison Krauss and had her identifiable touch but on Why Should The Fire Die? producers Eric Valentine and Tony Berg took a decidedly low-tech approach, recording with classic analog equipment, vintage reverb and single stereo microphones. The result is anything but low-fi but rather an exciting, engaging album that showcases their maturing song writing and outstanding musicianship.

Why Should The Fire Die? - which has scanned over 135,000 units since its release in August - opens with the first single, "When In Rome" and only hints at what is to follow. Featuring Chris Thile's vocal and mandolin and liberally-seasoned with Sara Watkins' brilliant fiddle playing, the lyric poses questions that seem to fit the modern dilemma for which there is no real answer. The three band members, joined by bassist Mark Schatz, share lead vocal duties through the 14 tracks, which in one sense broadens their range of expression but at the same time runs counter to having a familiar and predictable voice of a "front person". The vocal harmonies are top notch throughout. Other standout tracks are "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," "Eveline," "Best of Luck" and "Helena."

The three main members of Nickel Creek—Chris Thiel, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins (Sara's older brother)—first got together in San Diego, California in 1989, before any of them were even in their teens. That youthful musical relationship has grown and matured in dramatic fashion in the ensuing years incorporating elements of rock, jazz, classical and other genres that has helped to expand their audience far beyond the bluegrass faithful.

Their self-titled debut was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Bluegrass Album category in 2002. Their second album, This Side, debuted in the Top 20 of the pop charts, rose to #2 on the country chart, and won a 2003 Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The Musicians
Chris Thile (Vocals, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar)
Sara Watkins (Fiddle, vocals)
Sean Watkins (Guitar, vocals, piano)
Mark Schatz (Bass)

Site
www.nickelcreek.com

On
WXRT Chicago
WXPN Philadelphia
KFOG San Francisco
WFUV New York
KBCO Boulder-Denver
WBOS Boston
KMTT Seattle
KTCZ Minneapolis
KINK Portland
WYEP Pittsburgh
WFPK Louisville
KGSR Austin
WRLT Nashville
WTTS Indianapolis
WMMM Madison
WXRV Boston
Sirius
Music Choice
DMX
WNCS Burlington/Plattsburgh NY
WRNR Annapolis/Baltimore
WEHM The Hamptons
KRVB Boise
WRNX Springfield
WZEW Mobile
KTHX Reno
KWMT Tucson
KRSH Santa Rosa
WRSI Northampton/Springfield
WMWV Conway NH
WEBK Killington VT
WCLZ Portland ME
WMVY Cape Cod
WXPK Westchester County
WBJB Monmouth-Lincroft NJ
WUIN Wilmington
WNRN Charlottesville VA
WCBE Columbus
WAPS Akron
WQKL Ann Arbor
KCLC St Louis
KTBG Kansas City
KBXR Columbia
KSQY Rapid City SD
KTAO Taos
KBAC Santa Fe
KMTN Jackson WY
KFMU Steamboat Springs FL
KPND Sand point ID/Spokane
KSUT Ignacio/Durango
KOZT Ft. Bragg-Mendocino County
KLRR Bend OR
WIVI St. Thomas VI
WWVV Hilton Head SC/Savannah

Press
"On Why Should The Fire Die? (Sugar Hill), the band does its best work yet, moving further into its own identity. At its best, when it sounds least like either bluegrass or rock but like something in between, Nickel Creek makes an original kind of chamber music with pop singing.”
—The New York Times

"Boasting instrumental chops and three-part harmonies worthy of a mountain-soul string band, this coed trio is steeped in tradition. But their third album also flirts with pop immediacy."
—Entertainment weekly

Tour
10/23 Indianapolis, Egyptian Room
10/25 St. Louis, The Pageant
10/26 Chicago, The Vic
10/28 Milwaukee, Pabst Theater
10/29 Minneapolis, State Theater
10/30 Madison, The Orpheum Theater
11/01 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre
11/03 Dallas, Gypsy Ballroom
11/04 Austin, Stubb's Bar-B-Q
11/05 Helotes, TX, Floores Country Store
11/06 Tulsa, Cain's Ballroom
11/08 Columbia, MO, The Blue Note
11/10 Louisville, Brown Theatre
11/11 Birmingham, Alabama Theater
11/12 Greensboro, NC, War Memorial Auditorium
11/13 Norfolk, The Norva
11/15 Charleston, Charleston Music Hall
11/16 Knoxville, Tennessee Theater
11/18 Orlando, Hard Rock Live
11/19 Tampa, Tampa Theatre
11/20 Jacksonville, Florida Theatre
11/29 Tucson, Rialto Theatre
12/01 Denver, Fillmore Auditorium
12/02 Park City, UT, Eccles Center for the Arts
12/03 Spokane, The Big Easy
12/04 Seattle, Paramount Theatre
12/06 Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
12/07 Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
12/09 Eugene, OR, McDonald Theatre
12/10 San Francisco, Warfield Theatre
12/11 Reno, Hilton Theatre
12/12 San Luis Obispo, CA, Cuesta College Auditorium
12/14 Tempe, AZ, Marquee Theater
12/15 San Diego, House of Blues
12/16 San Diego, House of Blues
12/17 Los Angeles, The Wiltern

Retail
Why Should The Fire Die? is now in stores, released August 9th.

Contact
Lindsay Reid, Sugar Hill 919.489.4349
Art Phillips, Vanguard 310.829.9355